Review by Death8699 on October 9, 2018.

Back after a 4 year hiatus, follow-up from the Necrocracy (2013), Exhumed seems to be a little stronger and more brutal than their predecessor. But! Not as convincing as their All Guts, No Glory (2011). However, this one takes a seat in the middle of the scale, in my opinion, for liked Exhumed records. A different sort of production and now that they're on Relapse, that may explain a certain "dryness" in the making or sound to this one. What I mean by that is that it's a little bit flat in tone, especially the drums.

They're sticking with some staple members though, that being Matt on guitars/vocals, Ross Sewage vocals/bass, Bud Burke guitars/vocals, and Mike Hamilton who joined the band on drums back in 2011. Exhumed form when there was a huge death metal scene in the 90's especially in Tampa (Death, Obituary, et al), though their origin is in San Jose, California. If I'm to understand correctly Matt Harvey has been frontman and with the band for the longest period of time. In one interview, he's said to have started way back when he was a teenager with the guitar and wow the lineup changes over the years. That must've been hard to pull off, especially on live performances teaching fill-in members, but they did it. Let's hope it continues in direction of death/grind in the vein of Dying Fetus and Archspire, just not AS technical as those bands.

I still would have to say that the gut and locked in sounds of All Guts, No Glory (2011) remain to be my favorite. However, Death Revenge is one piece of work. If only a few things that I pointed out were remedied (production/mixing) then I would've given this a higher rating. But it is what it is here and I'm sure that fans were pleased with the new one over the previous one. Necrocracy was a bit too melodic for this band, their roots lie in the death/grind sort of arena.

Some cool tracks to check out are "Defenders of the Grave", "Unspeakable", "A Funeral Party", and the title track. Their all good though, despite my axing of the production sound. It may just be something to get used to for me. The leads by both by Matt and Bud were supreme and the music is what glorifies the release. It's definitely one to look into. Check out those songs but do your best if you like it enough and purchase the record.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Adam M on November 15, 2017.

Exhumed’s new album brings a nasty display of death metal to the table. It sounds like mid period Carcass at it’s most poignant and outstanding. Whether this album can match Necroticism is definitely a difficult task, but this is one of the closest attempts at mimicking the sound of that album that I’ve found recently. Though this often leans closer to Heartwork, I feel this album has best distilled the sound of the earlier, more classic album into it’s framework better than any other album to this point.

This was thus a very exciting listen and one that made a huge impact on me as a listener. The songs have a visceral feel that is unlike anything else on the market at this point in time. There is a degree of fun to be had performing this type of music and it seems like Exhumed are having a blast. They don’t beat the best of Carcass, but they seem to be having as much enjoyment as that band has had at any point in time. It all leads up to a death metal release that is one of the very best of the year. It rivals the likes of Immolation and Hour of Penance. While it doesn’t surpass those albums, it is nice to have another candidate for best death metal album of the year that can be mentioned in the same breath as those releases.

The performances are all top notch. The guitars buzz along at a nice frequency and make the songs more enjoyable. Drumming is upbeat and catchy. Also, the vocal performance is appropriate for the style of music being performed and adds to the release. Is there anything that could have been improved upon here? Yes, it could have further emulated Necroticism and added to the progressiveness aspect of the release. Still, Death Revenge is one of the more fun death metal releases of the year and one that fans of the genre should definitely check out.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on November 16, 2019.

The debut of Hallows Eve offered two of the best (thrash) metal tracks of all times. Of course, I am speaking of "Plunging to Megadeath" and "Hallows Eve (Including Routine)". The furious opener with its raging guitars and the monumental title track pulverized all that stood in their way. The problem was that the further songs remained far behind these two jewels of US-American thrash. Death & Insanity, the successor of the debut, revealed a more homogeneous picture and proved the song-writing skills of the band as well as its musicianship in an impressive manner.

In general, the title track and its reprise framed nine high quality thrashers. The complexity of "Hallows Eve (Including Routine)" did not reappear, but the band also did not expose itself to the reproach of primitiveness. Roughly speaking, the songs of Death & Insanity and those of the debut met on equal terms. Only one question remained unanswered. Why did they record these more or less superfluous instrumentals? This mystery cannot be solved. Apart from that, "Nefarious" marked the only song whose guitar work did not fully convince. Well, I do not think that this constituted a serious matter. Let us turn our attention to the highlights of the album.

Hallows Eve dished up a varied menu of thrash with a significant portion of punk and heavy metal. For example, the punk-influenced "Suicide" was nothing else but a rush of adrenaline, swift as an arrow and equipped with restless vocals. Its storm lasted only 75 seconds. But this was enough time to integrate four verses, four choruses and a miniature solo. In simple terms, the song was fantastic. This track was contrasted by eerily creeping tunes like "D.I.E. (Death in Effect)" or "Lethal Tendencies". These epics did not take care of the usual speed dogma of thrash metal. Hallows Eve thought it would be better to let the riffs do the talking. Due to their phenomenal power, this was the right decision. The viscous songs still spread an aura of horror. Especially the staccato of the rebelling chorus of the ironclad "D.I.E." left its scent. By contrast, "Lethal Tendencies" distinguished itself above all by its smooth yet very heavy flow and its intensive atmosphere. These tunes as well as the remaining tracks profited from the powerful, metallic and gapless sound.

The straight title track came as a real bombshell, but it unfortunately fell short of its potential. It clocked in at 2:21 and this was definitely too short for the ruthless riffs that it included. Worse still, its reprise was even shorter. But be that as it may, I suggest taking a close look at two further highlights. "Goblet of Gore" disgraced all those idiots who were of the opinion that thrash metal followed a one-dimensional pattern and lacked depth. It combined straight eruptions with more playful parts and a chopping staccato sequence was also integrated. Not to mention the calamitous "we the people shall destroy" choir that suddenly emerged. The powerful vocals of Stacy Anderson crowned this song. Contrariwise, "Nobody Lives Forever" possessed a tremendous flow while demonstrating the inevitability of death. Its riffs were less offensive than those of the other tracks, but they had a subliminal strength that took the song to the highest level.

Albeit the name of the album indicated a very dark lyrical content, the band surprised with some fairly optimistic lines. If we cannot defeat death, we are still able to spit the Grim Reaper in his face - this seemed to be the name of game. This is at least my interpretation of lines such as "Only one way to win, only one way to live / If you give in then you're going to pay / I'll be the conqueror, I'll thrash till death". Nevertheless, it goes without saying that the full-length mainly confronted you with a sinister and fatalistic aura. Do not overestimate the grin of the strange guy on the front cover. I am sure that he did not listen to this ominous masterpiece of thrash metal called Death & Insanity. The album does not deliver any reasons to laugh. The guardian of the morgue is just proud of the rat that he has caught.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10